I have been reading a discussion regarding moving to and settling in Italy. We travel to Italy frequently and love it but have no family history from Italy. Without this it seems to me that it is very difficult if not nealry impossible to simply decide as a citizen of another country such as the USA, Australia or New Zealand to move to and settle in another. Am I missing something here? Are there processes that would assist someone to make such a permanent move rather than vacationoing each year? I would be very interested in the views of others who have had no family ties enabling citizenship but who have successfully made such a move.

Thanks very much : )

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Hello! If you don't mind me asking, where are you from originally? It can be very tough to come here on a long-term or work visa if you don't get transfered by your company. The best bet is to get a student visa for any school for at least a year to see if that is what you really want. Long-term life in Italy can be tough so I always recommend this year... If you can work remotely even better! I'm American and moved to Italy in 2007 and managed to get a work visa (it was not easy) and I have no Italian family ties, they do have a lottery that you can apply for when it opens but it isn't very clear when it opens etc. Plus you may need a work contract in advance to present. :) in any case, feel free to share more info and if we can help, great!

It is more difficult moving to Italy as a non European, but not impossible. You will need a Schengen visa from your home country and when you arrive in Italy must apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno for elective residency -all of which takes time. What you must be aware of is that Italy will become your tax residence so you will pay taxes on your worlwide income and property in ITaly which comes as a shock to many.

You will have to prove that you have enough money to live on without being a burden on the Italian state adn have private health insurance .

Thank you for your reply. I am retired and have a superannuation retirement income and will also be eligible for some pension from the Australian Government. I own my own home here in Australia which could be rented to provide additional income to pay for rent in Italy.

Are you able to elaborate further on the Tax situation in Italy that you mentioned?

I have Private Health Ins here at home and we are also covered here by our Medicare System (a kind of National Health Scheme). I'm not sure if Australia has reciprocal health arrangements with Italy. I know we do with some European Countries and the UK.

If you rent a place to stay rather than buying a house, you can actually avoid all registration, taxes etc. simply by getting on with your life. Whether its legal or not is almost irrelevant. If you don't want any benefits from the Italian state, no one will care. If you want to do it all legally, it's also easy if you don't plan to seek employment and have the means to support yourself. Italy is full of retired foreigners, some of whom have lived here for decades. Come for a three month holiday and decide on whether you like the life. Also check on whether you're elegible for a British passport, that would make it even easier.

Greetings from Ascoli Piceno, Marche. We are American Expats who have residency in Italy as retirees. We ae coming up on our first year anniversary in Italy as residents. Our first suggestion is to go to the website of Ministero dell' Interno (The Italian Ministry of the Interior) and down load their pamphlet, in English, "Staying in Italy." As others have pointed out, as Non-EU citizens you must have a long term stay Visa to enter for more than a 30 day stay in a six month period. There are multiple avenues but as a retired person, you would be eligible to apply for an Elective Residence Visa. Once you enter Italy under that Visa, within eight days you are required to apply for your Permesso di Soggiorno (PdS) (Permit to Live in Italy). The PdS is currently being issued on a two year, renewable basis. Once the PdS is in hand you apply for your Carta D' Identita (Identification card or card of residence) at the Anagrafe (the Provincial Office that Administers residence matters). It is a bureaucratic process but you are asking them to grant you residence in their country so in effect, you are requesting a favor. Being patient, being sure to give them everything they want and being more patient, it does actually work in due course. Is it worth it? For us, we are absolutey convinced of it. We would do it again in a heartbeat. And we moved from southern California. If you want to get some insight on our experiences, we have a blog: gelatojournal.com. Best of Luck!

Your post is very informative. Always wanted to move there. Have family in Calabria- friends in Tuscany. Have spent 3-4 months past 2 years travelling aroung. Would love to stay in one place & live the local life. Way past senior age , but full of energy.. Did u buy or rent?

Hello again- My wife pointed out a typo- It is 90 days in a six month period in Tourist Status. Sorry about that.

A passing observation: In Italy skirting around regulations and requirements is something of a national passtime. In my old age, my tolerance for risk isn't what it used to be. If there is some incident beyond our control that results in the authorities asking for our papers, I much prefer being told in less than a minute to "have a nice day." Your Codice Fiscali (essentially your tax ID number), is required in many transactions. It appears on your card for the National Health System (Tessera Sanitaria) and that is what is normally displayed to present that number. You have to have official residence status to enroll in the health system, a bargain by the way particularly for us "Yanks." Going through the immigration process can be annoying to the point of frustration but for us avoiding it was not worth the worry of getting cross-wise with the authorities. But that is us and others may like a little excitment in their lives.

Greetings, Mikestar from a fellow Australian. We do not reside permanently in Italy, (but in another EU country as I have dual citizenship), although we own a holiday house in Italy and we do spend a few months here every year. There are quite a few Aussies living permanently in Italy who do not have Italian ancestry or family ties, so it is possible to obtain an elective residency visa, but you should start your paperwork at your nearest Italian Consulate in Australia. There, you could also obtain your "Codice Fiscale", which is absolutely necessary. You can download the relevant application form from the Italian Consulate in Australia, which should be the nearest to your home address. For a stay of up to 90 days, you do not need a tourist visa; however, if you just want to come for a long stay without applying for an elective residency at this stage, and returning to Australia, you can also apply for a temporary visa at the Consulate. Here is an article from another fellow Australian that will be very helpful http://bagnidilucca.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/getting-a-visa-for-a-long-stay-in-italy/

Thanks evryone for your ideas and advice. Not sure if we really want to do this yet but we are thinking about it for sure. We have been fortunate to be able to visit Italy each year since 2009 and we are heading there agin at the end of July to do a driving holiday in The Abruzzo, Umbria and a little of Tuscany.

Sorry, having problems with my tablet. In any case, my advice would be to contact your nearest Italian Consulate to find out as much as you can about your situation and get your Codice Fiscale. Then, I suggest that you contact the Australian Social Security ( is it stll called that way?) to check on the portability of your part-pension and which would be your entitlements. I know that there is a Social Security Agreement between Australia and Italy and you should check what it covers.

In any case, Italy is grat and I wish you the best with your future plans.

Assumimg we decided to try this out what is the potential to work in Italy? I would be happy to try to just cover our rent on a modest apartment in a Village in Umbria, The Abruzzo or Marche region. I have good communication skills and extensive experience dealing with people in a broad range of roles over my professional career and was thinking that teaching English might provide some opportunities? Any thoughts anyone?

Italy has a very high level of unemployment and to get a work permit may not be easy for you. Teaching English may not be an option in some villages where the majority of the population may not be young. Cities will provide better opportunities; however rentals will be higher. Language institutes will require formal qualifications in teaching English as a second or foreign language (you may have these...) I do not wish to discourage you, but I think that your chances of getting a job to complement your income may not be very good. Don't count on it, otherwise, your Italian dream may turn into a nightmare. Sorry!

Thanks for your feedback. I had the impression that this was the case from a little research I had done. I thought it would be good to get confirmation from this forum or an alternative view. We could suvive without work but a little would be helpful. I am becoming more inclined to think that a 6 month or 12 month sojourn in Italy or 6 in Italy and 6 in France might be a better option for us.

France is generally more expensive than Italy, or say... Spain. Living for 6 months in each country may be a good idea for a year, in order to find out which one you prefer; however, it will not be practical. If you like the two countries, perhaps you should have a look at Liguria or Northern Tuscany (not mentioning the French Riviera or Provence as both are very expensive). Do you speak French or Italian? In order to "survive" in both countries you definitely need to have at least some knowledge of their languages, or you will feel isolated.These are important things to consider before deciding to move anywhere. Also, ask yourselves another question? Are you going to miss friends and family back in Australia? If your answer is affirmative... don't consider moving. Australia is too far away!

Thank you for your very good advice. Much appreciated. We really don't want to break the ties with Australia. It is a wonderful stable country with a healthy economy and excellent standard of living and we would miss it too much to stay away too long.

I am in the process of applying for Italian Citizenship. I am a US citizen. Are there more benefits when I become an Italian citizen? I am thinking of retiring in Italy for at least 6 months each yesr.

If you are thinking of moving to Italy, please also consider Le Marche region. It's a nice region between the Adriatic and the Appenine Mountains. Full of history, nice little villages to visit and lots of activities to enjoy.

Food is great and we have one of the best white wine in the word, Il Verdicchio.

And the last but not the least it's much more affordable than Umbria and Toscany.